FMITK’s Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich
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I know it’s not Thanksgiving yet, but I was craving all the fixins of Thanksgiving leftovers, but unfortunately with none of the leftovers. So, I made my own leftovers from scratch.
Let’s just call it a Thanksgiving Leftover Dry Run. I’m prepping for the day after.
This sammich contains all of your favorite leftovers along with a couple of my favorite sammich additions.
SOOOOO, if you’re crazy like me and you don’t want to wait until the day after Thanksgiving to have a Thanksgiving-y sandwich, you can make stuffing and cranberry sauce from scratch… JUST to make a sandwich.
Don’t judge me.
The stuffing is a combination of my mom’s cornbread stuffing and my best friend Jonathan’s mom’s sausage and sage dressing. The cranberry sauce is my sister’s self-proclaimed “world famous” recipe. When asked for said recipe, she said “I don’t have one, it’s maple syrup and cranberries and orange juice”. So that’s what I went with.
Let’s get this Thanksgivingtimes party started with the stuffing.
You’ll need a box of jiffy, celery, spicy pork sausage, onion, egg, milk and sage.
Prepare the cornbread according to the box’s directions. You’ll need to dry out the cornbread if you’re making it fresh, so it’ll absorb all the broth and flavors you add. You can skip this step if you’re using leftover stale cornbread.
Chop up the celery, onion and green onions.
Saute the veggies in butter. This is my favorite part because this is when the house starts to smell like Thanksgiving.
Add in pork sausage and break it up with a spoon while cooking. Cook until no longer pink.
Add in the dried sage.
Add in the dried out cornbread.
And finally, the broth to bring it all together.
Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, until the top gets crispy. Crispy stuffing is the best.
Time for the cranberry mayo!
Fresh cranberry sauce is simple. Maple syrup, cranberries, sugar and orange juice. You can use canned cranberry sauce, but why when all you have to do is throw alla this in a pot?
Bring the sugar, water, orange juice and maple syrup to a boil and add in cranberries.
Bring back to a boil and simmer for an additional 10 minutes, until the cranberry skins have popped. It’ll thicken up as it cools. Throw it in the fridge (I threw mine in the freezer… so impatient).
Combine equal parts mayo and chilled cranberry sauce. Add dijon mustard and garlic if using.
Put it all together!
Have the turkey, stuffing, slices of brie and mayo ready.
The number of unnecessary dishes I make for you guys… sigh. I hope you appreciate it. lol
A note about bread.
Listen.
I’m a firm believer that bread can make or break a sandwich. I wanted something not too doughy inside, crispy on the outside. Ciabatta is the perfect choice. Find your favorite bread and use it here.
Cut the bread in half. One side gets the turkey meat and the sliced brie. The other side gets a little butter. Throw it under the broiler until toasted (the buttered side will toast faster than the cheese will melt, keep an eye out so you don’t burn your bread!)
See? I almost burnt her :X
Spread the buttered side with cranberry mayo.
Remove the half with the brie from the broiler once it’s melted and has begun to brown (you know how I feel about burnt cheese).
Top the turkey/brie half with cornbread stuffing.
Cut on the diagonal and devour.
I mean, c’mon.
FMITK’s Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich
Ingredients
turkey
stuffing (see recipe below)
cranberry mayo (see recipe below)
brie
butter
ciabatta bread
for the stuffing (makes ~6 servings)
1 box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix, cooked according to box directions (in an 8×8 pan)
3 ribs of celery, chopped fine
1 small onion, chopped fine
3 green onions, chopped fine
4 tbsp butter
1/2 lb spicy pork sausage
1 tbsp dried sage (or 10 fresh sage leaves)
1 cup chicken or turkey broth
for the cranberry sauce (makes ~3 cups)
1 12oz package (~3 cups) fresh cranberries, thoroughly picked over and rinsed
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
for the cranberry mayo
cranberry sauce
mayo
dijon mustard (optional)
garlic, minced (optional)
Directions
for the stuffing
Prepare Jiffy mix according to the box’s directions, in an 8×8 pan (as opposed to muffins).
Cut into 1″ pieces and let dry out on a cookie sheet in a warm oven for about 30 minutes. If you have leftover / stale cornbread, you can skip this step.
While the cornbread is drying out, saute onions, celery and green onions in butter until soft, about 10 minutes. Add in pork sausage and cook until no longer pink. Add in dried sage and mix to combine. Add in cornbread pieces and mix thoroughly, breaking up some of the bigger pieces of cornbread. Add in 1 cup of broth and stir to combine. Place mixture in a buttered baking dish and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, until crispy on top.
for the cranberry sauce
Bring water, orange juice, maple syrup and sugar to a boil in a medium sauce pan.
Add in cranberries and bring back to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, until cranberry skins have popped. Remove from heat and cool in the fridge. The mixture will thicken as it cools.
for the cranberry mayo
Combine equal parts cooled cranberry sauce and mayonnaise. Add in 1 tsp of dijon mustard and 1 clove chopped fresh garlic. Add additional mayo, dijon or cranberry sauce to taste.
assemble the best sandwich ever
Split the ciabatta roll in half lengthwise. On one half, place shredded turkey meat and slices of brie cheese. Butter the other half. Broil until toasted. The half with butter will toast faster than the brie cheese will melt, so keep an eye on it.
Spread a layer of cranberry mayo on the buttered half. Top the turkey / brie half with stuffing. Cap the sandwich off, cut on the diagonal (a sandwich must!) and devour .
Notes
Both the stuffing and cranberry sauce recipes double/triple/quadruple easily if you’re planning on using these as side dishes and not just a means to a sandwich end.
You can use leftover cornbread in place of making fresh cornbread. If you do make fresh cornbread, make sure you give it some time to dry out in a warm oven so it can absorb all of the other flavors being added.
You can skip the sausage in the cornbread if you want a vegetarian version. It’s still delicious with the cornbread alone (that’s how my momma usually makes it).
You can skip making cranberry sauce from scratch and just use canned cranberry sauce or leftover sauce. But I think you should try making it from scratch. It’s so delicious.
You can skip making the stuffing from scratch and use leftovers or the boxed stuff. Don’t use the boxed stuff. Just saying.
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